The Tinguian and Ilocano Peoples--an ethnography based on the work of Cole

Ian · 15th July 2018, 11:39 PM

Alan,

Thank you for the comment about choils. Yes, this feature certainly looks like a choil and may be intended for the purpose you describe. I used the word "curious" because such a feature is very uncommon on Filipino knives of the late 19th and early 20th C. I cannot recall seeing it on other knives from Luzon or Mindanao dating to that time period, and earlier examples are rather sparse and difficult to draw conclusions. As I mentioned earlier, there are occasional Visayan knives with similar features.

The question becomes where did the Tinguian get the idea to adopt this feature when they chose to avoid European contact and move inland? The Spanish certainly have knives with similar features but the Tinguian deliberately shunned them. Their Ilocano cousins, who had far more contact with the outside world, did not choose to adopt the feature and the Mountain groups with whom the Tinguian lived did not use a choil either. Maybe they reinvented the idea themselves. I just find it an odd and out of place observation that is intriguing.

Ian.

15th July 2018, 11:39 PM	#8
Ian Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: The Aussie Bush Posts: 4,048	Alan, Thank you for the comment about choils. Yes, this feature certainly looks like a choil and may be intended for the purpose you describe. I used the word "curious" because such a feature is very uncommon on Filipino knives of the late 19th and early 20th C. I cannot recall seeing it on other knives from Luzon or Mindanao dating to that time period, and earlier examples are rather sparse and difficult to draw conclusions. As I mentioned earlier, there are occasional Visayan knives with similar features. The question becomes where did the Tinguian get the idea to adopt this feature when they chose to avoid European contact and move inland? The Spanish certainly have knives with similar features but the Tinguian deliberately shunned them. Their Ilocano cousins, who had far more contact with the outside world, did not choose to adopt the feature and the Mountain groups with whom the Tinguian lived did not use a choil either. Maybe they reinvented the idea themselves. I just find it an odd and out of place observation that is intriguing. Ian.